Trish Doller’s female characters just speak to me. If you read Float Plan, you might remember Anne, whose fiance died, and she impulsively decided to sail the world. In Off the Map, readers can catch up with Anne when Carla Black flies to Ireland to be maid of honor in Anne’s wedding. This is Carla’s story, but her best friend, Anne, is always there for her.

Carla Black was raised by her beloved brother, Biggie. Biggie didn’t know how to cope when his wife left him with a five-year-old, so he packed Carla up in his jeep, and they traveled around the country, staying in national parks and forests. They traveled together for almost twenty years. Carla would have continued traveling with the person she loved best in the world, but eight years ago, Biggie developed early-onset dementia. He married, and pretty much kicked Carla out, using the family motto, “Here for a good time, not for a long time.” And, Carla never settled down, frantically traveling to escape the image of her father losing all memories of her, and, eventually, losing his life.

When Carla meets Eamon Sullivan in a pub in Ireland, she only thinks she’s meeting the best man, and she’ll travel to the wedding with him. But, Carla and Eamon just seem to know each other the first time they kiss. It doesn’t take Eamon long to reveal his secret. He’s a cartographer who has never been anyplace, even in Ireland. Carla insists they change that, and their trip to Tralee, the site of the wedding, is delayed a little as they camp in the Wicklow Mountains, and have a few adventures, including an interesting run in with a bull and an accident on a railroad. But, the more time Carla spends with Eamon, the more she longs to see her father again.

The wedding isn’t the highlight of Off the Map. The focus is on the sexy “fling” and growing relationship between Carla and Eamon, that begins to alarm Carla with its intensity. But, Carla doesn’t know how to be in a relationship. And, she’s afraid she won’t be able to handle one unless she deals with the man and relationship she left behind, the one with her father, Biggie.

Off the Map has so much to offer. Of course, for me, there’s Ireland. But, there’s love and friendship and thoughtful advice about both. I loved Carla, Eamon, and Biggie, and rooted for all of them. There were a few tears, but Biggie prepared everyone for that. “Here for a good time, not for a long time.”

Trish Doller’s website is https://www.trishdoller.com/

Off the Map by Trish Doller. St. Martin’s Griffin, 2023. ISBN 9781250809490 (paperback), 272p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received a galley through NetGalley, with the only promise an honest review.